Yuanfen
by ChiakiNanamemes
Summary: Yuanfen; A relationship by fate or destiny. The binding force between two people. Everyone has a clock on the wrist that counts down till they meet their soulmate. {Set before Volume 3 and 4} {Posted on Ao3 first: ChiakiNanamemes}


**Yuanfen**

Oscar stared down at his wrist, hazel eyes glued to the clock that kept counting down. It was getting closer and closer to zero, and he was beyond nervous. He was in the middle of central Atlas, and there were a lot of people around. He had a very high chance of not seeing who his soulmate was because the clock only counted down to when you first made eye contact, not to when you first spoke. This fact alone made his anxiety go through the roof as he nervously kept looking from his wrist to the people around him. They looked at him like he shouldn't be here, and they were right. He shouldn't. The only reason he was here was so he could meet his soulmate. He lived in the middle of nowhere, so the chances of him finding anyone there were slim to none. That's why his aunt had suggested he go to Atlas, since there were so many people who lived there. He didn't think there would be this many people though. He expected around thirty, maybe forty, people in the streets. Certainly not over a hundered.

Oscar kept walking around and decided to go down a few of the side streets. He looked at his wrist; Just four minutes to go. Oscar gulped, eyes darting around before landing on a bench. He slowly walked over and took a seat. He looked around, watching and waiting. Every so often he would look at his wrist and watch the time tick down, every second seeming to last longer than the previous one. It was painless torture. Just three more minutes. He could handle three more minutes.

As the clock counted down, Oscar began to worry once more. What if his soulmate didn't like him? What if they were his soulmate, but he wasn't there's? What if they were upper class, whereas he was lower class? What if there weren't a good person? What if they were a criminal? He gave his head a shake, trying to clear the thoughts. He couldn't change any of those things even if he wanted to, everything was already set in stone.

Two minutes to go.

Oscar stood up and straightened out his shirt, tucking it into his trousers. He didn't have any formal clothing, so had just worn what he would usually wear around the farm. He licked his hand and pushed back his black hair, which was a waste of time as it all bounced back straight away. Great. He sat back down and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, spitting onto it. He pulled his leg up and gave his boot a quick wipe down. He then did the same with the other. They had gotten a little dirty on the walk from the farm to the train stop.

One more minute.

Oscar gave a heavy sigh, watching as flocks of people walked by. None of them looked at him. They all had their heads held high and acted as if they were better than him. Well, they were better than him. They looked as if they had all the money in the world, whereas he had to work almost every day just to get by. It wasn't fair.

Thirty seconds remaining.

Oscar was fiddling with his hands, rubbing his fingers together. It was a nervous habit he had picked up over time, and it mostly only happened when the weather got bad and he was worried it would damage the crops. He never in all his life thought he'd be this nervous about meeting someone. The clock was still ticking, with just twenty seconds left. How he wished it went back to four minutes. He watched as it counted down, not daring to look up.

Nineteen  
Eighteen  
Seventeen

He heard birds fly away, indicating someone approaching the bench but thought nothing of it.

Sixteen  
Fifteen  
Fourteen

He heard footsteps, they were faint but getting louder.

Thirteen  
Twelve  
Eleven

Next came talking, as if they were on the phone with someone. He assumed this as he could only hear one voice.

Ten  
Nine  
Eight

The footsteps stopped and he could feel a presence in front of him. He wanted to look, but there was still time on the clock.

Seven  
Six  
Five

The final push. He left his eyes move for a split second and he noticed the black boots in front of him before his eyes went back to the clock.

Four  
Three  
Two

"Is anybody sitting here?"

He was forced to look up and that's when silver met hazel. There was a girl in front of him, and she had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. She had a smile on her face, and was just putting her scroll into her pocket. Oscar looked at his wrist and sure enough every slot was at zero. So this was it then; his soulmate was right in front of him and he had yet to say a word.

"I, uh...Yes? I-I mean, no! I'm sitting here, b-but nobody else is!" He mentally scolded himself for screwing up this early on.

The girl gave a slight chuckle and plonked herself down next to him, turning so she was looking at him. She had her had stuck out. "The names Ruby!" Oscar gently took her hand and shook it.

"Oscar. I-It's a pleasure to meet you!" As he was pulling his hand away, he noticed Ruby's clock. It was also at zero. "So it's true...We're soulmates..."

Ruby gave a nod, still smiling. "Yeah! Crazy, right? I didn't think these things actually worked, but they do!"

Oscar gave her a small smile, nodding in agreement. At least she seemed like a good person, and didn't seem like a total snob like the rest of Atlas.

"You don't look like you're from around here." Ruby said, looking over Oscars attire. "Where are you from?"

"Vacuo. I work on a farm there, hence the clothing... What about you?"

"I'm from Patch. You've probably never heard of it, but it's a island of the coast of Vale. I think there's a few farms on there..."

So it was true. Ruby wasn't from Atlas. Well this was working out great so far.

"So...Now what do we do? I mean, what do people who are soulmates usually do?"

"Well," Ruby began, "I always got taught that when you meet your soulmate you're supposed to kiss and stuff but uh...That doesn't seem like the thing we should do!" A faint blush had spread to both of their cheeks. "S-So I was thinking...That we should maybe hang out first...like a date..? J-Just to get to know each other!" By the time she was done, they were both as flustered as one another.

"T-That sounds like a good idea...How long are you in Atlas for?"

"I'm visiting a friend so I'm here for a few more days, yourself?"

"Till tomorrow..." They didn't have much time. Oscar couldn't stay any longer than he had planned since the farm needed him.

Ruby tapped her chin, clearly in thought. "Aha!" She exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing Oscar's hands. She pulled him up to his feet. "We should hang out now! Like, right now! I know lots of cool places we can go! Like the aquarium, or the park, or even just walking around town! It'll be great!"

"R-Right now?" The sudden contact had caught Oscar of guard and he was blushing once more. What didn't help was the fact that Ruby still had hold of his hands. "If you're sure we have the time..." It wasn't exactly late in the day, but Oscar couldn't help but feel like he would be wasting Ruby's time if they did do anything.

"We have plenty of time! C'mon, Oscar! It'll be a fun first date, I swear!"

"...Fine...But I have one condition. Y-You only hold one of my hands, and not both..."

Ruby looked down and sure enough she was still holding both of his hands. She quickly pulled them both away, a few rose petals going everywhere as she shoved her hands behind her back. "S-Sorry about that!"

Oscar couldn't help but smile at her. She was really, really cute. Too cute even. "It's alright, I didn't mind. I just thought it would be hard to walk like that." He mustered up some courage and offered Ruby his hand, "Shall we?"

Ruby hesitantly took his had and when she did, held it gently. It felt nice. "Yeah!" She started to walk, practically dragging Oscar along with her. He couldn't help but laugh at how strong she actually was, as you wouldn't expect it from her size.

The two walked in comfortable silence, cracking jokes every so often. They were getting along great, and Oscar couldn't be happier. He was so glad his soulmate was Ruby, and wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey Oscar?" It had been around two hours since the two had first met and it was getting dark. They were sat on a bench much like the one Oscar had been sat on when they first met. They both had an ice cream; Ruby had strawberry and Oscar had vanilla. They had both been silent until Ruby had spoke. Upon hearing her voice, Oscar looked up from his cone and gave her his full attention.

"Yes, Ruby?"

"I...I had a lot of fun today! I'm really glad I met you, and I think we should do this again sometime so..." She pulled her scroll from her pocket, "Can I have your number?"

Oscar gave a slow nod, grinning. "Likewise. I was going to ask for yours at some point too..." He pulled his scroll out and read out his number to Ruby. Once done, Ruby sent him a text.

Unknown number: I'm glad you're my soulmate.

Oscar couldn't help but smile as well as blush at the message. He saved the number and then replied.

Oscar: Me too. You're the perfect soulmate.

Ruby snorted, "Perfect, aye? You flatter me."

"I-I try my best!"

Ruby gave him a grin, licked her ice cream and then typed on her scroll.

Ruby: You're cute when you stutter

"O-Oh my dust..." He didn't bother responding at put his scroll away, "It's not even cute...Its annoying."

"Nah. It's totally cute. Fits you well."

"S-Shut up..." Oscar covered his face as his blush got worse.

"...Make me."

Ruby's words seemed to have come out of nowhere and Oscar moved his hands to look at her. She was blushing and wouldn't look at him. Suddenly, Oscar had an idea. He used her free hand and put it on Ruby's cheek, slowly turning her head so that they were directly looking at each other. The were both blushing as hard as the other.

"O-Oscar-" Ruby was cut off by Oscar pressing his ice cream against her mouth. Her eyes widened and she wiggled back away from the cone, giving Oscar a look that said 'Seriously?' Before breaking out into a giggle. Oscar was already grinning, licking at his cone.

"You told me to make you, but you didn't say how."

"You're such a jerk!" Ruby began to hit him on the arm, both of them laughing. Once they had calmed themselves down, Oscar gave her a tap on the shoulder.

"You got a little something on your face there..." He didn't feel awkward around Ruby anymore, and decided to just go for it. Before she could reply, he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips. Ruby's eyes widened before they closed and she relaxed into the kiss. Neither of them knew that they were taking the others first kiss.

Their kiss lasted for a few more moments before Oscar pulled back, sticking out his tongue and licking a drop of stray ice cream from the corner of Ruby's lips. "G-Got it!" He said, looking away.

"...That was nice..." Ruby muttered, smiling. She looked at her scroll, and the time read 20:13pm. "I should probably leave soon, otherwise Weiss will wonder where I've been..." She gave a nervous chuckle.

"I-Is this because of the kiss or...?"

"N-No! The kiss was great, you were great! I just don't want her to worry!" Ruby got to her feet, throwing the rest of her ice cream in the bin near the bench. She stood in front of Oscar. "Get up..."

Oscar obliged, getting to his feet. His ice cream had fallen on the floor at some point during Ruby attacking him. Ruby stepped forward and hesitantly wrapped her arms around Oscar, pulling him close. He smelt like soil and freshly cut grass. Ruby couldn't get enough. She pulled back slightly, looking up at him. "Today was fun...I hope we can do this again sometime..."

"L-Likewise..."

Ruby got up on her tiptoes and gave Oscar a kiss on the cheek before breaking the hug off. She stepped back and gave him a smile, "Till the next time, Oscar!" And with that she was gone in a flash, leaving nothing but rose petals in her place.

"Till the next time, Ruby..." Oscar said to himself, "Till the next time..."


End file.
